Here are some motorcycle related articles that you may have missed over the last week that you may want to read.

- Masterpiece: The most exquisite production bike in the world (MotoLiam)
- The 8 Most Common Motorcycle Injuries And How To Avoid Them (Motorcycle Insurance)
- Up-Close with the 2012 Zero S ZF9 (Asphalt And Rubber)

For those of you who aren't on Facebook, a "Timeline" is Facebook's attempt to show your history, starting at a date in the past whenever you decide. You can show the day you came into this crazy world, the day you went to jail, or when your company got created. Posting photos and articles, matched with a date, will create a timeline on your Facebook page.

BMW have done exactly that, and it looks great. You can go back to 1932 and move yourself upwards through their timeline, looking at BMW's colorful history. Articles, photos and video illustrate their history.

What do you do when you have a Vespa 50 scooter lying around doing nothing, and a spare Yamaha FZR600 engine gathering dust? One is a 50cc scooter, the other a powerful 600cc motorcycle engine...

That's a dilemma that someone in Italy had, and he solved it by taking the Yamaha engine and wrapping the Vespa scooter around it. Mind you, it's not a static scootBike, but it really works, just have a look at the video below.

It just keeps getting worse and worse. Running up to the elections, politicians are doing the craziest things to get noticed. The latest comes from the reigning political party, who have been repressing cars and motorcycle drivers since they have been in power. With automatic radars distributing fines like little croissants, making it impossible for people to contest a speeding fine (they have already been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights - see related articles below), the government have now added a step to prevent people from contesting speeding fines, even if the fines are not justified. They do this by scaring the Beejeezus out of them....

As off the 16th of March of this year, the government has authorized the creation of a computer system, named ARES, that will record the details of every person who contests a fine. They'll record data like vehicles, name, address and even profession. In other words, "we've got your name, and we know where you live!"

Easter is almost upon us, and the Italian chocolate specialist, Balocco, has an Easter egg surprise for us motorcycle lovers. They are bringing out especially for this Easter, a beautiful, and probably yummy, Easter egg branded by Ducati Corse.

The Ducati Easter egg, not only is 320 grams of milk chocolate done up in the Ducati colors and logos, but inside, there's a surprise. Well, it's not that much of a surprise, since I'll tell you what's inside the egg. It's a 1:18 scale model by Maisto. You can get either the MotoGP motorcycle from Rossi (last year's), a Multistrada 1200 or a Monster 696. Not bad for a "surprise".

For those of you who are planning to attend the Bol d'Or 24 hour motorcycle endurance race next month (14/15 April), there's an added advantage for going. The organizers are opening the circuit for all and their dogs (or bikes).

But the really interesting thing about this open circuit is that they plan to allow you to ride your motorcycle AT NIGHT. Friday the 13th of April (for some it's lucky, for some it's unlucky), starting at 21:00 (9 PM) until midnight, there will be several "trackday" sessions, allowing you to race on the circuit for 3 laps at night.

Back in 1993, a Frenchman driving his Citroen 2CV car in the Morocaan desert broke down, and his car died. Instead of giving up, and since he was several 10's of kilometers from the closest village, he decided with a minimum of tools, to convert his car into a motorcycle.

After 10 days, he managed it, and with only 1/2 liter of water left, he managed to ride out on his 2CV motorcycle.

We're in the final stretch for the French presidential elections, and the French Federation of Angry Bikers (FFMC) organized massive protest ride-outs through the country.

The protest was organized to send a message to the political powers to-be, that as a motorcycle group, we should be heard. 3.5 million PTW in France should be enough to get their attention. And after this weekend, the message should be loud & clear. An estimated 80,000 motorcycle, scooters and quads took part throughout France, with some 15-20,000 in Paris alone (with many coming from all over France, Belgium and even the UK to help pass the message.

This is going to become more and more common while Europe gets its act together: speeding tickets interchangeable between countries. Until recently, if you got caught speeding (or other less drastic offences, like parking) in another European country, you could forget about paying. At the very most, the country in which you got caught, will send you several letters, each one more menacing than the other, but they could never do something about it.

Several bilateral agreements have started over the years between countries allowing them to exchange speeding tickets details, giving access to a country's computer system containing the motorcycle (or car) registration details.

Russian motorcycle manufacturer, Ural, have released the dates of their 5th European motorcycle bash. It's a time for Ural owners and lovers to gather, swap stories, drink lots of beer and do some ride outs.

The date is set for 31 August until 2 September. The venue is Aschach, Austria (on the Danube river).

So if you are into Ural motorcycle, mark the dates, and start planning your holiday.

The town of Redditch in the UK used to be the home of the Royal Enfield factory, from 1893 until 1967 when the motorcycle factory closed its doors and moved to India where it has been ever since.

2 years ago, a fantastic and award-winning pub opened in the former city of Royal Enfield, and was aptly named "The Royal Enfield". Located in the town's old cinema, it looks pretty good as far as pubs go.

But if you arrive on a post 1999 Royal Enfield motorcycle, the owner will give you a 10% discount on the food.

Here in France, when you get fined for speeding on your motorcycle (or car), you do not really have any chance of contesting the fine. You receive the fine at home, and you have so many days to pay. You must pay, even if you do not agree with the fine. Afterwards, you can try to argue that it was not you riding the motorcycle, or you were not speeding.... but, the process is incredibly complicated, and often with no results. The only people who have a say in it, is the Ministry of Interior, not a judge. In other words, you don't get to see a judge.

This did not sit well with a few drivers who got fined. Despite following the complicated procedure to get the fine cancelled, no one listened, and they not only had to pay up, but also lost their license points. So they went to the European Court for Human Rights.

Funny, and well done, video, which is really a sales promo for CalMoto. The video clip does Star Trekl, and takes the GS motorcycle boldly where no GS gas gone before, exploring the universe, or in this case, the woods.

The first half is really nice, with the famous Star Trek music, and some kick-ass riding.

The Dakar organization have just announced the 2013 route for the famous and gruelling Dakar rally, and it's a whopper. They are still going to hold it in South America (Africa seems to be off the cards for the time being), but instead of starting in Buenos Aires as they have in all previous editions, in 2013 they'll start in Lima, Peru.

So instead of going North, they will be going South. The route takes them partially through Argentina, and finishes in Santiago de Chile.

Motorcycle jacking is something that is common all over the world. People pull you off your precious motorcycle and ride off with the bike. Not much you can do about it, but this little product might help you. The product is not meant for motorcycles, but with a little re-thinking, it could work for us.

It's a Personal Screaming Alarm, and it's a chain chain. You attach the key chain to your ignition key, the other end to your jacket (or elsewhere), and when you are pulled off you motorcycle, it pulls a pin, and the alarm starts screaming at 130 dB. The interesting thing is that it's not a typical alarm/siren sound, but the voice of a female screaming. 130 dB is very loud, and the thief will be not to comfortable with a sound that will drown out even the biggest and loudest motorcycle.

Somewhere in the Middle East, a couple of young motorcycle riders are amusing themselves doing stunts on the public roads. So far, not much to write home about since it happens all over the world.

Except here.... first of all, the stunts are totally weird, not something you'd want to try at home. Secondly, their motorcycle aren't exactly the kind you'd use for stunts, and thirdly, forget anything you have ever learned about ATGATT.

Here are two video, the first one is of a "stunt" biker, the second of a stunt pillion. Both must have fireproof feet....

We've got fixed, mobile, handheld, airborne, red light and even garbage can radars. But now we've got a new radar type. The new radar type has started over the weekend in France, on test, and this one I completely agree with. It's a WIP (Work In Progress) radar, and they are to be installed just before areas where there are road works in progress.

Every time there's a presidential election somewhere in the world, you'll find candidates that are motorcycle riders by passion, and they don't hide it. Many have their photos taken while riding their bike.

Now it's the turn of Egypt, and one of the hopefuls on his motorcycle.

While old age creeps up on us, many still have a great long distance vision, but require reading glasses to see what's on the food plate (or read a book). Which means that you have problems reading the dials on your motorcycle's dashboard.

Many of us just put on sunglasses and guess what's on the dashboard or GPS.

But Dual Eyewear have got a great solution for you, that not only allows you to see close up with sunglasses, but also make you look cool.

Politicians usually don't get it. Their thinking is clouded with judgements and biases. But one politician gets it.....

.. and that is Dominique Voynet, the current Mayor of Montreuil, a large city north of Paris. Despite being a treehugger and key member of the Green party, her official vehicle as Mayor is ...... a chauffeur driven .... scooter!

She's probably the only Mayor of a large city who has a scooter as official vehicle.

When Honda does something, they do it big. Honda have announced that they are building a new motorcycle factory in Indonesia to keep up with local demand. The factory is planned to produce a whooping 1.1 MILLION motorcycle a year.

The new $341 million plant will add 3,000 new jobs. It's Honda's 4th factory in the country. The new plant when it opens next year, will manufacture with the other factories, a total of 5.3 million motorcycle per year.

When I first saw this TV commercial from Honda (I have to assume it's from Taiwan, but I could be wrong), it looks a lot like it's Steve Jobs who is fronting the ad. The advertisement is for the Honda SCR 110, a small scooter, but the guy walking around it, looks a hell of a lot like Steve Jobs.

They have purposely made the guy a bit blurry, but he wears the same black clothes favored by Jobs, short hair like Jobs, stubble like Jobs and glasses like Jobs.

Following up on their promises, the Belgium government made it possible for the first motorcycle taxi to start its operation in Brussels. Brussels has one of the worst traffic jams in Europe, so it's appropriate to have such a service.

The first company, City Scoot, has started operating a service with 400cc scooters. More companies will follow shortly.

It's good to see that this initiative is government sponsored, not like other countries, where motorcycles are still seen as a problem.

Having a ponytail can be cool, but when riding a motorcycle it can be a slight problem. Your hair flies around totally unprotected. Wind, bugs and even sweat will "hurt" your hair.

But what to do? You can try to hide your ponytail under your helmet, but that will get sweaty. Or try to keep it in your jacket, but that doesn't really work either. Or you can just let your hair flow freely in the wind, but in the long run, it'll cost you your hair.

But there's a solution, and not only will it not cost you much, but also look cool...

Terrorists are nasty people, causing havoc and destruction amongst people. They have been known to drive trucks and cars full of explosives into crowded areas. Most security authorities have started putting obstacles in place that will prevent a car or truck to penetrate these areas. So the terrorists have turned to motorcycles....

Motorcycles are difficult to stop, since if you can walk there, you can ride there. They don't pack as much explosives, but can have a devastating effect.

Here are 40 photos of motorcycles there were either used for such an attack, or "innocent" motorcycles that got caught in the blast.

WARNING: If you're squeamish of the sight of a blown-up motorcycle, totally destroyed, do not read on. I have not taken any photos with bodies in them.

The numbers are in, and they are looking good, if not spectacular. In France, during the month of February 2012 the number of people who have died on the roads has dropped dramatically, a record.

During the month, 25.3% less people died in their cars and on their motorcycles. The politicians are all slapping their own backs, since the presidential elections are only a few weeks away. But IMHO, I don't think it has anything to do with politics, but more with a) weather (the coldest we've had in a very long time) and b) the price of gasoline.

It looks like rising movie superstar Tom Hardy is planning to produce and star in a new movie next year. After Dark Knight Rises, Inception, he is going for another "dark" movie.

The movie, untitled yet, is about a Vietnam war vet who, in the 1960's, when he gets back home joins and then leads a 1%-er motorcycle club. Sound familiar? You bet, it's the story of the Hell's Angels. Warner Bros who are behind the movie insist that the movie is not based on the Hell's Angels, and that the movie biker gang will not be asked to guard a Rolling Stone concert.

The previously announced 2012 Oilibya Rally of Tunisia has been cancelled since the government of Tunisia could not guarantee the safety of the participants due to severe unrest in the Southern part of the country.

NPO, the organizers decided to cancel the rally since the danger was too great.

The English iconic motorcycle manufacturer, Norton, is known for making classic motorcycles; bikes you will see in many movies, ridden by stars. A few years back, Norton went bust, but then came back from the ashes.

And like any self respecting motorcycle manufacturer, they need to keep the money flowing by selling merchandising, or at the very least, stuff that is closely related to their business. And like any self respecting motorcycle manufacturer, their merchandising is plentiful. But unlike most manufacturers, they have one set of merchandising stuff that others do not have; BOOTS.

Yes, Norton are proposing real biker boots, made by English shoemaker Jeffrey-West. These boots are not only a symbol of craftsmanship and quality, but also style. The Norton logo is neatly and discretely found inside, on the shoe lining, or on the soles. Nothing flashy or distracting.

Already last year, the outgoing President of France had announced that he was planning to introduce mandatory alcohol testing units in every car in France. The alcohol test unit would need to be approved, but could be a simple, single-use unit that can be bought on the internet for a few Euros. God knows why, since someone who is drunk and insists on driving will do it anyway. Someone who takes care, and just wants to be on the safe side, will not have drunk enough to be unsafe... so a totally useless measure.

But yesterday the law was published by the Prime Minister, and now there's a twist.... the measure applies to motorcycles and scooter as well. Only mopeds are exempt.

So now we need to keep a alcohol test unit on us at all times, even in the hot summer. If you don't have any storage on your motorcycle, tough. Failing to have one, will cost you $11.

When you become a champion, you not only win the glory and the big bucks, but you get to star in TV commercials, bringing in even more big bucks. That's also the case for Casey Stoner (no pun intended), who after winning the MotoGP crown, gets to promote Honda motorcycles.

Here's a TV commercial in which Stoner shows off what the Honda CBR 150R is capable off, in and off the circuit.

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